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Psychiatric Services is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal
published monthly by the American Psychiatric Association. The journal
provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of psychiatric care,
treatment, and service delivery. It has a strong clinical focus but also
offers in-depth coverage of administrative, legal, economic, and public
policy issues.
The journal gives priority to material that
is clearly applicable in everyday clinical and administrative practice or in
public policy development. Wherever appropriate, practical implications
should be emphasized in such a way that they lend themselves to a highlighted
presentation (such as a list or table) when the article is published.
Abstracts should be clear, concise, and readable and able to stand on their
own as a description of the article.
To enhance readability, authors should use
a minimum of jargon and abbreviations. They should use active voice, first
person, and short sentences whenever possible. Language should be
gender-neutral.
Submission
of Manuscripts 
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Psychiatric Services reviews material for publication on condition that
it has not been previously published, including electronic publication, and
is not being reviewed for publication elsewhere.
For peer review, all material
except tables must be double-spaced, with all margins a minimum of 1.5
inches. All pages should be numbered.
Authors must protect patient
anonymity and disguise identifying information.
The journal uses a Web-based
manuscript submission and tracking system called ScholarOne Manuscripts. To
submit your paper, please visit ScholarOne Manuscripts
and either create an account or use your existing account. Then follow the
instructions to upload your manuscript. Because the journal’s peer
review process is blind, please ensure that the title page of the file you
upload does not contain any author information. Check the acknowledgments
section and delete any author-identifying information. Do not use running
heads with author names.
The tips below will help ensure problem-free
submission.
Successfully Uploading Your Manuscript
- Check to see if you have an existing user
account on ScholarOne Manuscripts.
A user should have only one account, even if he or she has multiple
roles (as a previous author, as a reviewer for any of the APA/APPI
journals, as an editorial board member, or as a deputy editor). Creating
a second account when you already have one will delay the submission and
review process.
- Ensure that your manuscript conforms to the
word limitations described below.
Unless the Editor’s permission is obtained, longer manuscripts
will be immediately rejected. For permission, contact the editorial
office.
- Submission of literature reviews requires permission
from the Editor. For
permission, contact the editorial
office.
- Upload only one file for review. The single file should contain a title page,
an abstract, text, and references. An uploaded manuscript file without
the first four elements may be rejected immediately. Tables and figures
should be uploaded as part of the Main Body file. Avoid uploading
figures or tables as separate files.
- Upload a blind copy. Omit authors’ names and institutions
from the title page and from running heads and acknowledgments. Do not
use a filename that contains an author’s name or a portion of a
name.
- Do not upload a PDF file or a WordPerfect file. The types of files that may be uploaded are
listed on the ScholarOne Manuscripts Web site. Authors who upload other types of files
will be asked to resubmit.
- Suggested reviewers must have e-mail addresses. During the upload process, you will be required to list the names and e-mail addresses of four peers who can objectively review your paper. The system will block final submission unless the e-mail addresses are entered. For a smoother upload, obtain the e-mail addresses before you begin.
- Disclosure of study support and conflicts of
interest. Ensure that the
title page lists funding sources and conflicts of interest (see Disclosure and Title Page
sections below).
- Check for a confirmation e-mail. Successful submission will immediately
generate an e-mail to you that will include a unique manuscript number.
If you do not receive an e-mail, return to your author center and be
sure that you clicked the final submit button on screen 12. Use the help
line number provided on the Web site if you believe you have submitted
correctly and have not received an e-mail.
- Keep your user account up to date. To ensure that you receive e-mailed
communications about your paper, please update your user account,
especially if your e-mail address changes. Always
click the “Update Information” button to ensure that the
changes are saved.
ABSTRACT
All manuscripts should include a structured abstract after the title page
with the following information, under the headings indicated: Objective: the
primary purpose of the article; Methods: data sources, subjects, design,
measurements, data analysis; Results: key findings; and Conclusions:
implications, future directions. For regular articles, the abstract should
not exceed 250 words. For brief reports, the limit is 150 words.
AUTHORSHIP
Only principal researchers or writers should be identified as authors.
Persons listed as authors must have made a substantial contribution to the
paper (that is, to conception and design or data interpretation, and to
drafting, and to final approval) and must be able to take public
responsibility for it. By itself, data collection, institutional position, or
supervision of the research group does not justify authorship. Other
contributors can be named in the acknowledgments. Upon acceptance of the
manuscript all authors will be asked to certify authorship (for a copy of the
Authorship/Disclosure/Copyright form click here).
For each author, enter the primary current
affiliation (including specific title and department or agency). A second
affiliation may be entered if desired. If an author’s affiliation when
he or she did the work described is different from the current affiliation,
list it also. The current and former affiliations can be identified as such
when the accepted paper is being edited for publication.
COPYRIGHT
On acceptance of a manuscript, Psychiatric Services requires transfer
of copyright to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) so that the rights
of authors and the association can be protected from the consequences of
unauthorized use (for Authorship/Disclosure/Copyright form click here).
PUBLIC ACCESS POLICY
Broad access to the research literature and the rights of our authors are
important to American Psychiatric Publishing, the publisher of Psychiatric
Services. Read our public
access policy for guidelines on deposit mandates for research
funded by NIH and others and institutional repositories.
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DISCLOSURE
OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST OR POTENTIAL CONFLICTS
Policies
Disclosure of financial support and conflicts of interest is required for
authors of regular articles, brief reports, columns, editorials, reviews, and
letters to the Editor. Conflicts of interest and potential conflicts must be
disclosed for the 12-month period preceding acceptance of the manuscript (for
examples of sources of bias see Considerations for
Disclosure below).
Financial support for the
study is always disclosed, whether from governmental, nonprofit, or
commercial sources. Grant and award numbers should be included if applicable.
Nonfinancial forms of support, such as provision of drugs or equipment,
analytic support, or other such assistance, must also be acknowledged.
Authors are responsible for
informing the editorial office of any additional financial support or
conflicts of interest that may arise prior to the date of publication of
their paper.
Procedures for Disclosure
Upon submission. It is the corresponding author’s responsibility
to ensure that disclosures are made at the time of submission. Disclosures
should be made in a blinded paragraph on the title page of the
manuscript. (See Title Page below.)
Upon acceptance. Upon acceptance of a manuscript, all
authors are required to complete the Authorship/Disclosure/Copyright form
(click here for form).
Part B1 of the form contains three statements on disclosure that each author
must certify. Part B2 of the form requires authors to detail all potential
sources of bias.
Publication of
information.
Information disclosed will be reviewed by the Editor. Relevant information
will be published in the article. If there is evidence of bias in the conduct
of the study, there may be further review and the manuscript may be rejected.
Authors are encouraged to contact the Editor at any stage in the manuscript
review process if they believe that they have conflicts of interest that
require review.
Considerations
for Disclosure
Conflicts of interest may be direct (e.g., when the study is funded by a
commercial entity) or indirect (e.g., when an author has served on an advisory
panel for the commercial entity). Reporting must include all arrangements
that may present an appearance of bias in the conduct of the study,
interpretation of data, and reporting of findings. Such reporting includes,
but is not limited to, institutional or corporate affiliations, paid
consultancies, research contracts, speakers’ honoraria, foundation
support, stock ownership or other equity interests, patent ownership,
royalties, funds for travel, and interests in patents, instruments, and
technologies. For income from pharmaceutical companies, the purpose must be
specified (e.g., research grant, speakers’ bureau honoraria, etc.).
Psychiatric Services will not make specific determinations
as to whether a relationship requires disclosing. If there is a question as
to whether a relationship is relevant, disclosure is the preferred course of
action.
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CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRIES
Authors should be guided by the principles outlined in the American
Psychiatric Association’s “Position
Statement on the Publication of Findings from Clinical Trials.”
Research studies should be entered in a public trials registry as
appropriate.
STUDY APPROVAL AND
INFORMED CONSENT
Manuscripts that report the results of experimental investigation and
interviews with human subjects must include a statement that written informed
consent was obtained after the procedure(s) had been fully explained. In the
case of children, authors are asked to include information about whether the
child’s assent was obtained. If your submission does not contain
information about written informed consent and Institutional Review Board
approval, it will not be reviewed.
TEXT
The text should include four major sections after the introductory
paragraphs: methods, results, discussion, and conclusions. The last paragraph
of the introduction should state the purpose of the research. The methods
section should provide a comprehensive description of the sample (including
data on sex, age, and race/ethnicity), methods of recruitment, measurement
and evaluation techniques (including information about reliability as
appropriate), and data analysis (including the name of the statistical
package used). At the end of the section describing the sample, it should be
clearly stated that “After complete description of the study to the
participants, written informed consent was obtained.” The issue of
institutional review board approval should be addressed. Strengths and
weaknesses of the study should be presented in the discussion. (For additional
detail, see the list
of guidelines for research reports
below.)
TYPES OF ARTICLES
When you submit the manuscript, you will be asked what type of article it is
and the word count (excluding abstract, references, and tables).
Regular Articles,
Including Research Reports
In general, articles should not exceed 3,000 words excluding abstract,
references, and tables, although some exceptions are made by the Editor.
Please do not submit articles of more than 3,000 words without first
contacting the Editor or Managing Editor at psjournal@psych.org. In your e-mail, please
explain why the paper should exceed the word limit. Attach the abstract of
the proposed submission or the paper itself.
Research reports must include
a structured abstract (maximum 250 words) with the following headings and
information: Objective, the study purpose or research question; Methods,
including study design, setting, subjects, intervention(s) if any, and main
outcome measure(s); Results, the main results of the study; and Conclusions
directly supported by the data. For articles not reporting research, include
an unstructured abstract of 100 to 150 words.
Research
reports should follow these guidelines:
- Use the standard format of an
introductory section followed by Methods, Results, Discussion, and
Conclusions. The Conclusions section should be separate from the
Discussion; all conclusions should be related to the data presented.
- In the last paragraph of the
introduction, state the purpose of the research. (If the purpose is not
stated as a research question, it should be translatable into a research
question.) Also indicate the type of study design, such as experiment,
survey, or retrospective or prospective study.
- Include data on the sex, age, and
race of the study subjects.
- Include the dates the original
data were collected.
- Indicate whether informed consent
and institutional review board approval were obtained, or whether the
principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki were followed.
- Preferably in the methods
section, describe the data analysis procedure concisely and in a manner
understandable by nonstatisticians.
- In the results section, including
tables, report only the findings related directly to the research
purpose or research question. Omit other data.
- Report numbers for all
percentages and SDs for all means.
- When reporting statistically
significant results, report test statistic values, degrees of freedom,
and probability level.
Psychiatric Services welcomes submissions that examine new
applications of established clinical or research instruments with populations
receiving or providing mental health services. Basic psychometric work on the
development of new scales should not be submitted.
The journal considers
publication of randomized trials with negative findings if they are
accompanied by analysis with adequate statistical power and a discussion of
what was learned from the research.
Literature Reviews and
Special Articles
Literature reviews and special articles generally are solicited by the Editor
and are 4,000 to 7,000 words plus no more than 100 references. Reviews should
focus on recent literature. Before submitting a review, please consult the
Editor at psjournal{at}psych.org In your e-mail,
please provide a word count; count only the words in the text, not in the
abstract, references, or tables. Attach an abstract for the paper if
possible.
Literature reviews must include a structured abstract (maximum 250 words)
with the following headings and information: Objective, the primary purpose
of the review; Methods, the data sources searched, how studies were selected
or excluded, and (if applicable) how data were abstracted; and Results and
Conclusions, the main findings or conclusions from the review and their
applicability.
Brief Reports
Maximum length is 1,200 words (excluding abstract, references, and table),
plus no more than ten references and one table or figure. Include a
structured abstract of 150 words maximum. When reporting research in a brief
report, follow the guidelines for research reports, above.
Commentaries
Provocative commentaries of 425 words maximum are invited for Taking Issue.
Authors may also submit commentaries of 1,200 to 1,600 words and up to ten
references for the Open Forum section. Authors may be asked for source
material to support factual statements in opinion pieces.
Letters
Letters should not exceed 500 words with a maximum of three authors and five
references. a) Letters reporting results of a study should be uploaded to
ScholarOne Manuscripts for peer review. b) Letters commenting on material
published in Psychiatric Services should be sent directly to the
Editor (contact information is available here). They must
be received within three months of publication of the article to which they refer.
Such letters are published at the discretion of the Editor and will be sent
to the author for possible reply.
Columns
Material for columns is solicited by the column editors. Authors of possible
submissions should contact the column editor
directly.
Book Reviews
Books to be considered for review should be sent to the book review editor,
Jeffrey L. Geller, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Psychiatry, University of
Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, Massachusetts
01655 (e-mail: Jeffrey.Geller{at}UMassMed.edu).
Potential reviewers should contact Dr. Geller.
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Arranging
the Manuscript
TITLE
PAGE
Psychiatric Services uses a double-blind review. When submitting your
paper online at Manuscript
Central, do not include author information on the title page (Main
Body file) or on any supporting files for peer review. (Author information
entered during the submission process is internally linked to the manuscript
and is not required in the manuscript itself.)
Title
The title should be informative about the content of the manuscript and as
brief as possible.
Acknowledgments
List all financial support received for the study in an Acknowledgments
section on the title page. For grants, include the grant number and the full
name of the granting agency. Because the journal uses a blind review process,
no author’s name or initials should be listed in this section. (Names
of principal investigators or awardees can be added when the manuscript is
being edited for publication.) Acknowledgment of individuals is limited to
those who contributed to the paper’s intellectual or technical content.
The journal discourages acknowledgment of anonymous groups (e.g.,
“staff of the mental health center,” “participants in this
study”). If the paper was presented at a meeting in the last three
years, give the meeting name, city and state, and full meeting dates.
Disclosures of Conflicts
of Interest
As described above, it is the corresponding author’s
responsibility to disclose for each author commercial or financial
involvements within the past 12 months that may present an appearance of
bias. Upon submission of the manuscript, such information is listed in a
blinded paragraph on the title page formatted as follows. Note that if there
are no interests to disclose, that should be stated:
“Disclosure of
Interests: Dr. XX: speaker’s honorarium [with name of company]; Dr. XX:
stock ownership [with name of company]. The remaining authors have no
interests to disclose.”
or
“Disclosures: None
for any author”
TABLES AND FIGURES
For regular articles, include no more than five tables. Include tables only
when they present relevant numerical data more clearly than could be done in
text; data in short tables often can be incorporated more concisely in text.
Authors will be asked to delete extraneous tables. Follow the table formats
used in recent issues of the journal. Specify all units of measure clearly.
Tables will be edited to conform to journal style. Tables should appear at
the end of the uploaded file. Do not submit them in a separate file.
Figures are published only
when they contain essential information that cannot be adequately presented
in text or tables. Most figures without data, especially flow charts, are
judged nonessential. (Also see Supplemental Data below.)
Figures accepted for
publication must be clear, uncluttered, and two-dimensional. Except for
figures for Datapoints, color should not be used. To facilitate peer review,
upload the figure as part of the Main Body file if possible. If more than one
figure must be uploaded separately, use a single file if possible.
Psychiatric Services discourages the use of previously
published tables or figures. Authors who use such material must obtain
written permission for reprinting from the copyright owner and include it
when they submit the paper.
Checklists and forms
generally are not published. A note that such material is available from the
author may be included in the paper. (Also see Supplemental Data
below.)
REFERENCES
Limit references to relevant published material cited in the text, including
all but widely known tests and scales. Complete literature reviews are rarely
necessary.
Only material that has been
published, accepted for publication, or presented at a major national meeting
is included in the reference list. Citations of material in press must
include journal or publisher name. (If unpublished material is cited, note
the source and year in parentheses in the text of the paper. Citation of
unpublished material should be kept to a minimum.)
Double-space all references.
Arrange and number them in order of appearance in text, not alphabetically.
(Do not use the name-and-date style of citation in the text.)
In the reference list, name
all authors and editors through the third; if there are more than three, list
the first three, followed by et al. Spell out journal names; do not underline
or use italic or boldface. Follow Psychiatric Services style for
reference punctuation.
Journal Articles
Include authors, title, full journal name, volume number, first and last
pages, and year.
Example:
Aleman A, Hijman R, de Haan EHF, et al: Memory impairment in schizophrenia: a
meta-analysis. American Journal of Psychiatry 156:1358–1366, 1999
Books or Monographs
Include authors or editors, book title (not underlined), volume or edition
(for federal government publications, any series designation), city,
publisher, year, and, if pertinent, page numbers of the material cited.
Example:
Goldberg JF, Harrow M (eds): Bipolar Disorders: Clinical Course and Outcome.
Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press, 1999
Chapters in Books
Include chapter authors, chapter title, book title (not underlined), volume
or edition, book editors, city, publisher, and year.
Example:
Clark HW, Kanas N, Smith DE, et al:
Substance-related disorders: alcohol and drugs, in Review of General
Psychiatry, 4th ed. Edited by Goldman HH. Norwalk, Conn,
Appleton & Lange, 1995
Legal Proceedings
Follow The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, by the Harvard Law
Review Association.
SUPPLEMENTAL
DATA
Psychiatric Services now allows authors to submit supplemental data to
be posted online only in support of printed articles. To be accepted for
posting, supplemental material must be essential to the scientific integrity
and excellence of the manuscript. The material is subject to the same
editorial standards as the printed journal and will be submitted for peer
review. The Editor may select material submitted for publication in the print
version to be posted online only. For material posted online, a sentence is
added to the text referring readers to the journal’s Web site.
To facilitate review, please
name the files and cite them in the for-print manuscript as SuppT1 for
tables, SuppF1 for figures, SuppA1 for appendices, and so forth. Color is
permitted in all supplemental files.
Types of supplemental data
include:
- Detailed tables that contain data
of use to other investigators. Data should be summarized in the text of
the print version.
- The CONSORT figure for clinical
trials is also appropriate for online publication only.
- Figures that illustrate data from
the study in alternative formats.
- Extended or annotated
bibliographies.
- Appendices. Questionnaires,
tests, checklists, etc., should be submitted as supplemental data.
Supplemental data should be
uploaded in a separate file from the for-print manuscript. Please remember
that the larger the file size the longer it will take users to download. For
this reason, please limit your files to 10 MB. Only the following formats can
be accepted:
- Plain Text (.txt)
- HTML Page (.html)
- JPEG Image (.jpg)
- GIF Image (.gif)
- Adobe PDF (.pdf)
- Excel Spreadsheet (.xls)
- ZIP Compressed File (.zip)
- Word Document (.doc)
- Tiff Image (.tif)
- PowerPoint (.ppt)
- Encapsulated Postscript (.eps)
- Mp3 (.mp3)
- QuickTime Video
If your document type is not
listed here, please contact the editorial office.
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Review
Process
Manuscripts submitted for
publication (including invited papers) are sent for blind review to at least
three independent reviewers. Separate statistical review is obtained when a
reviewer requests it. The final decision is the Editor’s. Authors are
usually notified of a decision within three months, although some delays are
unavoidable.
REVISED MANUSCRIPTS
Authors may be asked whether they wish to make suggested revisions in a paper
and resubmit it. If substantial revisions are requested, the paper will be sent
again for outside review. Every effort will be made to expedite such review.
Revised manuscripts must
conform to the general requirements listed above, including minimum 1.5-inch
margins, full double-spacing, and word count. They are submitted online via Manuscript Central.
Processing
of Manuscripts
Manuscripts (including
revised manuscripts) are accepted with the understanding that they will be
edited for clarity, elimination of redundancy, and conformity with Psychiatric
Services style. Generally, manuscripts are edited within three to six
months from the date of acceptance.
The corresponding author
receives an electronic file of the edited paper for approval before
publication. He or she will be asked to check the edited version carefully to
make sure the editing did not introduce any inaccuracies and to make any
necessary changes, answer editorial queries, and contact the editorial office
by a specified date. After the paper is typeset, galley proofs are sent
electronically to the author.
All authors of a paper
receive one complimentary copy of the issue, which are mailed to the
corresponding author along with a price list for ordering reprints.
Indexes and
Databases
Psychiatric Services is covered in Index Medicus, MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied
Health Literature, Current Contents, Excerpta Medica, HealthSTAR,
Psychological Abstracts, PsycINFO, Social Science Citation Index, and other
indexes and databases. The journal is available online to subscribers at ps.psychiatryonline.org. The journal
publishes an annual author index each December.
Reprints & Permissions
Contact the Journal
Editorial Office
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